What is it about South Korea and ladies golf?

[IrishGolfer]

So eight South Korean players finished in the top 20 in the recent Ladies British Open. That number just blew my mind. I have heard about the mushrooming of Korean ladies golf, but that number alone is staggering. Doing some research I found an interesting titbit of information.

“In 1997 there were no South Koreans on the LPGA Tour. Today there are 32. Nine of the top 20 money-winners this year are South Koreans, with eight of them accounting for victories in half of the first 16 tournaments.”

And apparently there are over 1,200 scratch or better female amateurs in South Korea today, all probably itching to get a crack at the lucrative LPGA tour. Imagine what sort of score it would take to win the Seoul Ladies Amateur??

So how in 10 years ladies golf is now dominated by a country with a population of 40 million? Why the phenomenal level of success in such a short period. Golf courses are expensive and overbooked. There are a multitude of other sports that girls can be attracted to other than golf.

Some folk say that the success is down to their work ethic. The mental toughness. The drive and determination of Korean culture. The idea that excelling at sport can't be nearly as impossible as dealing with the hardships that fills the pages of their country's history books, things such as poverty and hunger and war and military dictatorship. But why golf?

Others say it is down to the family environment and parenting. It's decided pretty early on that the children are going to play just one sport. Once the decision is made, the focus kicks in. What Americans consider "pushing" their kids, Koreans consider right and proper. The more freestyle approach used by American parents - let kids have time to be kids - Koreans consider borderline irresponsible. Leaving children to make their own decisions would be disastrous. Every moment of time is accounted for: children are in school, in an after-school tutoring program, or in a sports activity until it's time to go to bed and start all over again the next day. Yes, it's hard, but it's a competitive world out there and the role of the parent is to teach the child to be successful in it. Korean parents, meanwhile, don't fret over lost childhoods. Children are expected to do their share to help their family and their country succeed. But why golf?

Other countries over the past few decades have taken sport seriously. A lot of the Eastern Block countries (Russia, East Germany, etc.) all developed sports programs linked to the military. Sports like athletics, ice hockey, swimming were dominated for decades by the same countries.

China has recently taken this lead with a multitude of sports and I would expect a sea of red on the medal podiums in Beijing over the next few weeks.

But why is women’s golf the most obvious success in Korea? Was their some sort of government program developed 10-15 years ago that chose golf, specifically for ladies? Did the Koran government invest in teaching programs, development of courses etc.

Was there / or is there a Korean Grandfather / mother of golf who made all this happen?

It’s a pretty exciting trend, one thinks other Governments would sit up and take notice.

Oh and some of them look quite hot too!!

[DaGris]

there are alot of them playing....and they are good.

[Harold]

I think Se Ri Pak's Major victory in 1998 had something to do with the explosion of women's golf in Korea. She was sort of the pathfinder, pioneer, trailblazer.
I remember reading somewhere the LPGA is looking towards more tournaments that are in the far east. The powers that be would be fools not to and I bet the galleries would be packed, whereas some of the tournament as they are now hardly have anyone in the gates. Like the Arkansas one. Plus the longer it goes on that there are not LPGA tournaments in the Far East the greater likelihood that another series is created, in competition with the LPGA. With the way the leaderboards look nowadays which one would you think might end up being considered the top tier league and which one would be the equivalent of the Nationwide Tour?

[SilverUberXeno]

They all grew up working at golf almost the way Tiger did. He's pretty good.

[ClairefromClare]

As the parent of an eight year old with golf talent, I have this discussion a lot. I'm not doing that to her--no eight hours a day at the range, no move to Florida to go to full time golf school, no skipping college to turn pro at 18. If that robs her of a career, so be it.

Then I change to subject to all those Domincans in baseball.

[floggerrushmd]

I watch things like gymnastics at the olympics, and I see the strain put on these girls who are barely old enough to have reached puberty, and I want to slap their parents silly for doing that to their child. It is different if you child has the drive and the motivation to do it on their own, and you provide the means, but pushing your child into an environment where they can not be a kid anymore is just wrong. Too many people look just at the athletic side of things, and miss the fact that these kids have no social skills what-so-ever. It is like the child genius. I had all the credits and requirements to go to college when I reached the 8th grade, but I didn't go because my parents knew that maturity/social development wise I just was not ready. I do not regret that my parents made this decision, and I know that when the choice comes I would make the same one for my kids. You can't raise them up to be mature enough to succeed in anything other than a sport if you work them that hard from that young. And what happens if they fail. Look at Tiger Woods, what would he do if his dad's great experiment hadn't worked. Do you think he would have been prepared to tackle the real world outside of a golf course. I don't, and I think that one of the most important things in a person's life is the ability to be a kid and grow up doing kid things.

That being said I will have my kids at the driving range 20 hrs a week 52 weeks a year they have a retirement plan to uphold.... jk.

[twofast2s]

my parents always let me play whatever sports i want to play. i started w/ basball in korea at 8 to 10, and then soccer, football, and wrestling during highschool in US (no gay remarks about wrestling please... i have no comeback ). looking back, for an eight year to go to school, then practice from 3-9PM take lot of toll on the body. so for the most part, by the time when koreans go pro, they are prone to injuries. however, golf is less physically demending sport, and considered as "prestigeous" sport, so if korean parents see that their daughter has some talent, they will milk it (not all, but higher chance than here in US). for guys however, parents wants them to be doctors and lawyers, so they don't really push their sons. this is all due to extremely competitive and cut-throat society.

[IrishGolfer]

Originally Posted by twofast2s

my parents always let me play whatever sports i want to play. i started w/ basball in korea at 8 to 10, and then soccer, football, and wrestling during highschool in US (no gay remarks about wrestling please... i have no comeback ). looking back, for an eight year to go to school, then practice from 3-9PM take lot of toll on the body. so for the most part, by the time when koreans go pro, they are prone to injuries. however, golf is less physically demending sport, and considered as "prestigeous" sport, so if korean parents see that their daughter has some talent, they will milk it (not all, but higher chance than here in US). for guys however, parents wants them to be doctors and lawyers, so they don't really push their sons. this is all due to extremely competitive and cut-throat society.

Good insight there 2F. Thanks.

[ClairefromClare]

So now this thread has ads about Korean datings services all across the top...

[Harold]

Originally Posted by ClairefromClare

So now this thread has ads about Korean datings services all across the top...

Very interesting. Not that I am paying any attention to the ads but I went into a couple of other threads and there is some ad tailoring going on. The SkyGolf GPS has Golf GPS Ads, the ShotTalk outing has event ads. I guess if it can't be figured out you get the mlatch.com ads.

[Slingblade61]

It's the magic of google adsense.

Occasionally I find one that I have to filter out, like the time Rockford was commenting on one of his prison stays I had an ad for chubbygaydating .com. no, really.

[LyleG]

Originally Posted by Slingblade61

It's the magic of google adsense.

Occasionally I find one that I have to filter out and add to my bookmarks, like the time Rockford was commenting on one of his prison stays I had an ad for chubbygaydating .com. no, really.

Fixed your post for you boss

[ClairefromClare]

Originally Posted by Slingblade61

It's the magic of google adsense.

Occasionally I find one that I have to filter out, like the time Rockford was commenting on one of his prison stays I had an ad for chubbygaydating .com. no, really.

Oh lord, what kind of cookies would that one give you?

But sort of on point--what toofast2s says is part of it. A lot of countries that have dominated one sport or another are countries where traditionally, women (mostly) haven't had a lot of opportunities. Okay, in the Dominican Republic, no one has a lot of opportunities. Parents see someone break out and make it big, so the floodgates open. I wonder what happens to all those children who are pushed that hard and DON'T make it--what's left for them?

[ezra76]

Originally Posted by ClairefromClare

Oh lord, what kind of cookies would that one give you?

But sort of on point--what toofast2s says is part of it. A lot of countries that have dominated one sport or another are countries where traditionally, women (mostly) haven't had a lot of opportunities. Okay, in the Dominican Republic, no one has a lot of opportunities. Parents see someone break out and make it big, so the floodgates open. I wonder what happens to all those children who are pushed that hard and DON'T make it--what's left for them?

With the Korean girls, they proabably marry one of the guys who became a doctor... and then whip his a$$ every Sat. morning. Of course they could also have quite the hustle playing best ball for $$. "I'll partner with my wife... she'll even play off the men's tees.". That'd be about a Mercedes payment in a few hours.

[Eracer]

Originally Posted by ClairefromClare

I wonder what happens to all those children who are pushed that hard and DON'T make it--what's left for them?

Exactly. Our culture values the "no child left behind" mentality. Follow YOUR dreams, and society will provide you the opportunity to succeed. Asian cultures define their children's dreams for them, and push them in ways we simply won't. As you say Claire, it's a small percentage who succeed; what happens to those that don't?

On the other hand, education is foremost in the minds of most asian families.